“I’m amazed by the people who focus on the final, they don’t deserve to see that image of Real”

He hasn’t had an easy season either personally or collectively, but he continues to be one of the team’s leaders on and off the field and one that will continue next season. He criticizes himself and wants to improve Real’s performance because he knows “little” about this season, beyond acknowledging that the support has been incredible in the Cup. Amaiur Sarriegi (Donostia, 2000) attended Mundo Deportivo a few hours after a long course in which he confirmed that they had suffered.

How are you? Do you want to finish?

Yes, it is clearly a season that is getting long for all of us. Especially since you are not forbidden anything. After the Cup is getting longer.

They are coming off a good win in Madrid which will feel good, at least.

Yes, we also mathematically certified eighth place and that is important for next year’s Cup. And it’s always nice to win.

First victory against the F League’s top 7, in addition. A small challenge was achieved.

already. We don’t get positive results against lower teams either, but it’s always good to win against a higher one.

It was changed at half time. Technical decision or inconvenience?

Purely a technical decision, yes.

Does it look bad or is it tactical?

Personally no. These are decisions that are made and we players have to abide by. Little more to say.

He played less than expected, right? 13 starts in the League, below the theoretical replacement of players.

(Nod). I think within those 13 titles there were situations where the staff and coaches had technical decisions but there was another important part. This year I have been injured a lot and this has never happened to me. Small damage but they left me for two or three weeks, which makes you start late on rest. This is something I want to improve for next year, my availability for the coach coming next season. I get a lot of these messages (from playing less) but in the end I have to focus on what is up to me.

But did it perform worse, perhaps, than other seasons?

There is a fine line between results and performance. I think there are many games where I gave a very high performance. If you see the results in terms of minutes, assists or goals, which is something that has been characteristic of me during my years at Real, I have to improve. I want to improve. I am self-critical in many ways. I understand that being more available would have given me more opportunities to improve results.

I had to check the figure of two goals in the League and one in the Cup several times, because it was surprising. This was his worst season at Real, he scored 13, 17 and 12 in the previous campaigns. Why was it?

There are many factors and I can’t say ‘it was because of this’. If only I hadn’t changed it. It’s a cluster. Chain injuries, not having as much continuity as I’d like, or success. He could have scored four or five more goals. And that would be seven goals in 13 starts and the panorama is changing. Goals scored in other seasons is a difficult thing to do. I have to push myself but also be aware that there can be a bad year of results and nothing happens. This season helps me learn a lot because I haven’t been injured and the lack of continuity. There are many things that until now I have not experienced and now I do. This is a great study.

He has changed a lot in his position. Do you see yourself better from the front or from the end?

That’s also a factor of course. Without using it as an excuse, obviously, because all the time I assumed that I had to give a better level. I love playing forward, I’ve always played there since I was little. I think I have that scoring instinct that, the closer to the area I am, the more options I will have to score goals. This year I have played a lot on the left wing because Nerea has also played a lot on the inside, right wing as well. Most of the time I played as a winger and that’s why you have more of a passing or creating role. And also don’t establish yourself in a position and thrive on it. This is something I cannot decide and I will always follow the orders they give me.

Together, how is the weather?

It got complicated. In terms of results, it wasn’t what we expected but often overshadowed the games we played. I remember our bad streak in the Anoeta derby, then four or five games that we didn’t win. We played very well in that derby, we were superior but the result shows you the direction you are going and you are stuck with another defeat and another defeat. That regularity is what we are missing. And this is due, in part, to a lack of force in both areas. This is the key.

Did you suffer as a team during the season?

I think. When things don’t work and there are no good results, you enter a negative dynamic and the truth is that it becomes complicated.

AMAIUR SARRIEGI

“The anoeta in the semifinal was special, something I felt that I had never felt before, a relationship between the public and the players”

Did you see the near drop?

There was a stretch there that greatly affected the mental issue. Psychologically this year we failed, we have a lot to improve. We are a very young team who have to be tough in these situations, keep believing when things don’t work out and don’t think about ‘one more day I will lose’. There was a stretch of six games with breaks and so on that was a little complicated. We said ‘oysters’. We never had that fear because I don’t think it was true, but it was something that I think crossed our minds.

What does eighth place taste like?

The taste seems small to me, very little. Especially if we see our quality and talent. This Real can give more and get better results.

How do you deal with a season like this, so long, on a day-to-day basis?

The Cup was a psychological incentive that helped us. A completely different competition that we can fight. We were determined to follow the path to the final and in that sense the Cup weeks helped a lot. It is true that, in general, the weeks and months were very long because we did not see the results, we did not see the light. We continued to do the same, only better. It’s the frustrating feeling of running into the same wall all the time and mentally it’s hard but today at the end we managed to turn it around a bit.

The cup journey is wonderful. This is a very short tournament where you immediately place yourself in the quarterfinals. Did you feel good after getting rid of Levante and Atlético and playing some really good football, especially against the Granotas?

I feel super lucky and proud of what we did in that game, but at the same time I get angry when we see that if we did that, we are capable of doing that. We failed to do this regularly. If you beat Atlético and Levante, who took so many points from you in the League, it means that it’s not a coincidence, that you have the talent and ability to do it. I know Real can give more.

That match at Anoeta against Atlético has to be special.

Anoeta is special. I felt amazing, I had never felt it before. There was a rapport between the public and us that I don’t think has happened until now in Anoeta.

They went to the final, they saw that the rival was Barça. Deep down, do you really believe you can win? Are you convinced that with the plan you have, you can do it?

Yes. We have a plan that we’ve been working on since we qualified. On a psychological, physical and tactical level. It has merit that, going into the League as badly and coming as we did, that we really believed we could face the game and compete in it. We were aware that we could do that because we had stood by them before. We did not go with our heads down.

And what happened? The difference is remarkable but Real did not have a good final.

I agree it’s not a good Real. Real have not been seen at their level and the same has been the case in the League. We don’t know how to deal with it properly. Our plan is to go to hell very quickly. One of the keys to competing is not getting fit early. We didn’t know how to fight back and the strategy didn’t work.

I remember that he was seen with a special fury and spark pressing his rival. Pure pride and anger?

Obviously, when the opponent makes eight against me, I get angry. I have blood in my veins and I feel helpless, that in the end they trample you. The normal thing is to bring out what is inside you and that is what I did trying to contribute in a situation that is not easy for anyone.

He was one of those who became emotional after the meeting. How was the postgame?

It was very difficult. Not just because of sports, which is the main and the most painful. All the people we managed to get there do not deserve that image. I felt like I was a participant in that very negative scenario, in a very bad defeat.

I think that all evil does not pollute what the sun is. Something historic in terms of displacement, support and atmosphere.

I’m hallucinating. In Anoeta in the semis I saw that people were not there because they opened the stadium and let’s see what happens. No, people know we need support. And in the final it was the same. People were very dedicated to us, singing, clapping since morning. This is something unusual.

Grieving and healing are long overdue. How have the days been so far?

The following days were the most complicated. We have an application that notifies us when game images are available and it pops up on my phone and I don’t want to see them. I felt so sorry for that day that I couldn’t do it. Then you assume that it happened, that I tried to do my best. There are times when you get there and you just can’t push yourself any further. On a collective level it is similar. We tried to move forward and do what we had left as best we could.